The Last Boeing 747: After 53 Years and Two Generations, and Now, Does Your Airplane Have a Jumbo? Well, That’s the Story!

After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 rolled off the assembly line in Washington state Tuesday evening, on its way to serve as a cargo plane.

And we mean jumbo: the 747’s tail towers as tall as a six-story building. The plane’s length was larger than other airliners at the time.

The 747 was once the choice of the rich and glamorous, and even royalty. Many movies, including the 1973 James Bond classic “Live and Let Die” featured the plane, or sets made to look like the first class lounge on its upper level. The 747 still serves as Air Force One, as it has since 1990. Two already-assembled planes are undergoing work right now to be transformed into the next generation of the presidential jet. The planes will not be delivered for at least four years.

At the end of the year, there were over 130 passenger jets in service, and it was just before the H1N1 crisis crippled the demand for air travel, particularly on international routes on which the 757 and other widebody jets were used. Most of the passenger versions of the jets were not brought back to service during the early months of the epidemic.

“The 747-8 is an incredibly capable aircraft, with capacity that is unmatched by any other freighter in production,” said UPS in 2020, when Boeing signaled it would soon stop building the jet. They use them on long, high-volume routes connecting Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East.

The longest commercial plane currently in use is about double the length of the first flight by the Wright Brothers, or 250 feet and 2 inches long. It has a wingspan of 224 feet and 5 inches.

In a statement as the company announced the end of production for its airplanes, Kim Smith, the Boeing vice president and general manager of the 767 program, said tens of thousands of dedicated Boeing employees had designed and built this magnificent airplane that has truly changed the world.

The Big Flight: From New York to London, the Boeing 747 Sets New Record for the Fastest Subsonic Commercial Flight Across the Atlantic

Hawaii, a very young state was suddenly attractive to people in the U.S. And cities around the world became more interconnected by direct flights.

The big plane was supposed to be a win for middle-class travelers because it would be cheaper to use a single flight if more people were on it. But that dynamic changed in later years, as the aviation industry saw a growing preference for smaller, more fuel-efficient planes and less focus on crowded, hub-to-hub flights.

The 747’s star has been dimming — U.S. carriers phased it out in 2017 — but it had another moment in 2020, when a British Airways 747, aided by strong winds, traveled from New York to London in 4 hours, 56 minutes, setting a new record for the fastest subsonic commercial flight across the Atlantic.

Pan Am’s advertising from that early era shows the plane’s economy section comprised three spaces appointed like living rooms, each with its own movie system. The airline said that being on the aircraft was akin to being on a cruise ship.

Airlines put their own spin on the lounge, with names such as the Penthouse Lounge (TWA) and the Tea House in the Sky (Japan Airlines), according to the library.

The Boeing used the advanced high-bypass engine technology that was used in the military plane to lift the huge airliner into the sky.

“One of the decisions we made was to be a good freighter as well as a good passenger plane,” the 747’s lead designer, the late Joe Sutter, told Smithsonian magazine in 2007. It was one of the most important decisions we made, as it influenced the size of the fuselage. It’s how the wide-body concept came into being.

The production line of the Boeing 727 has been in place since 1969 and its most recent competitors, the A380 and A340, were constructed in 2003 and 2021, respectively.

It’s been another tough year for aviation, as the world returned to flying after the Covid-19 pandemic, only for the industry to be beset by chaos and cancellations. There were silver linings, however, as the industry slowly recovered and progress was made in terms of more environmentally sustainable flying. The high and lows of the ride are listed here.

We began the year wearing masks while Covid was at the ready. Europe was leading the way on relaxing restrictions during the thaw. Asia has been slow to re-open to tourism, but they are now opening their doors. China, the last holdout, made a shock exit from its Zero Covid strategy this month, but experts warn the move may be too drastic.

There are delays, cancellation, and strikes, as well as higher fares. The summer of travel chaos matured into the winter of travel chaos as post-pandemic staffing shortages, infrastructure issues and in some quarters worker disputes, continued to cripple the industry. Even though flights and seats in the US and other countries are not back to pre-pandemic levels, high demand is pushing up prices.

Struggling to cope with the surge in demand, in July London Heathrow capped passenger traffic to 100,000 departures per day. Delta Air Lines took care of the baggage handling problem by flying a plane filled with 1,000 lost bags, zero passengers and no pilots from London to its Detroit hub.

The Great War of 2022 in Air Travel: The Failures of Flight Operators and Airline Supervisors in the United States and in the UK During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The cracks began to show. The CEO of European low-cost carrier Wizz Air attracted criticism for telling staff to take less time off for fatigue. And in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration rejected regional airline Republic Airways’ controversial proposal to reduce the hours it takes to become a co-pilot.

By August, airline passenger complains in the US were up 320% compared with pre-pandemic figures. And by November, US airlines had paid out more than $600 billion in refunds to travelers for canceled or changed flights since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Travelers with disabilities have been particularly hard hit by the gaps in service, with treatment often reaching “unacceptable” levels

The chaotic atmosphere caused tension in the sky and an increase in unruly passenger incidents. Flight attendants were on the front line of the “unsustainable and shambolic” situation.

Before Covid changed the travel landscape, Asian Pacific air traffic accounted for more than a third of all global passenger journey by October 2022 aviation in the region remained down by 45% . In May, CNN reported how airline ticket scalpers had taken over the heavily restricted Chinese market.

If pet owners in Hong Kong were to move out of the city, they would be forced to charter private planes for their animals. Having had some of the toughest travel restrictions in the world for more than two years, in October 2022, the newly relaxed Hong Kong confirmed plans to give away half a million airline tickets in a bid to boost tourism.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in the closing of airspace over both countries and sanctions of Russian airlines (as well as retaliatory sanctions by Russia). The conflict also led to a spike in jet fuel prices in March. There are plans to rebuild the largest plane in the world that was destroyed by Russian forces in the war.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/2022-year-in-aviation/index.html

The Rise and Fall of the Airbus A380: The Big Bounce After the Pandemic, and the Rise of Airplanes

The experts think that the climate crisis could cause the most severe and sudden type of turbulence to increase in coming decades. Recent serious turbulence incidents include dozens of people being injured on a Hawaiian Airlines flight on December and 18 and five people injured on a United Airlines flight the following day.

It was a very warm summer in Europe, the US and in Asia, with one airport suspending flights after a runway was damaged by high temperatures. It can be harder for planes to take off at higher altitudes because of the heat. Here’s why

The Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, is no longer in production but the superjumbo still made a comeback of sorts after being grounded during the height of the pandemic. Tim Clark, boss of Emirates — the A380’s biggest customer — told CNN he wants Airbus to build another plane on the same mammoth scale. Will either airlines or manufacturers bite?

In March, Air New Zealand launched the first ever direct flights (clocking in at 17 hours) between Auckland and New York City. Qantas launched a direct flight between Melbourne and Dallas. Qantas said in May that it was ordering 12 A350-1000s to use on Project Sunrise flights which could connect Australia with New York and London in 20 hours.

Fly Atlantic is joining with other airlines to bring back low-cost flights, despite the fact that it is not easy to turn a profit in this market. And JetBlue has announced that it will expand its transatlantic low-fare offering in 2023, by introducing flights from New York and Boston to Paris, on top of its existing London service.

There is a race to be the next Concorde. Bombardier’s Global 8000 went supersonic in tests in July. American Airlines agreed to buy 20 of the jets from Boom Supersonic in August but the aircraft is yet to complete a test flight. NASA continues to work on a quiet supersonic plane.

CNN Travel was first to try out the new double-decker airplane seat prototype and it went over well in the internet. New premium suites with privacy doors were revealed by American Airlines in September, and in June there was a new Skynest concept by Air New Zealand.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/2022-year-in-aviation/index.html

An Atlas Air tribute to the late B737 pilot, Joe Sutter, who died in 2016, during a celebratory opening of FlightRadar 24

Over 200,000 people watched a live stream from a UK plane spotter on the internet in February as a storm hit, becoming a national hero. Queen Elizabeth’s coffin being transported by a Royal Air Force jet saw a record number of visitors to FlightRadar 24’s website.

The aircraft was handed to Atlas Air in a ceremony that was broadcast live online.

In a dramatic opening of the hangar’s sliding doors, Atlas Air’s new plane was revealed behind flags bearing the liveries of every carrier that’s ever taken delivery of a 747. The company has 56 of the aircraft in its fleet.

One small significant detail on the last one delivered: a decal right next to the nose paying homage to Joe Sutter, chief engineer of the Boeing 747 program, who died in 2016 and is considered by many as the “father” of this famous aircraft. Members of the Sutter family, as well as members of the Boeing family representing the company’s founder, Bill Boeing, attended the delivery ceremony on Tuesday.

“The impact of your work continues well beyond the production lines,” Dietrich said. “It has fueled childhood dreams and career ambitions while at the same time driving global economies and supply chains.”

“The 747 is a symbol for many, many things, and above all, I think it’s a symbol for the world, which the 747 has made substantially smaller,” said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr.

Actor and pilot John Travolta, who narrated a series of videos chronicling the aircraft’s colorful history, appeared to thank the employees of Boeing for “the most well-thought-out and safest aircraft ever built.”

The plane was rolled out of Boeings assembly line in anti-corrosive green paint and made its public appearance in December. In early January, photos appeared online of the aircraft, already wearing the Atlas Air livery and the homage to Joe Sutter.

The introduction of a European double-decker plane early in the 2000s prompted Boeing to decide to retire one of the design’s older versions, which were already showing their age.

The B747-8i was the last variant of the jumbo jet and proved to be the last of its type.

The A380 is enjoying a revival, but airlines are rushing to bring stored aircraft back to service in order to compete with smaller twin-engined jets.

Lufthansa remains the largest operator of the passenger version of the B747-8, with 19 in its current fleet and potential commitments to keep the jumbo flying passengers for years, possibly decades, to come.

It has a nose-loading capability and the cockpit is elevated so it can carry large objects in the cargo hold.

This facility was purpose-built for the Boeing 747 and is, according to the company, the largest building in the world by volume. It’s since served as the main production location for Boeing’s wide-body airliners, the 767, 777 and 787 (the best-selling narrow-body 737, however, is produced at Renton, another location in the Seattle area).

These same sources said Boeing may also make additional B737s in Everett. Production of this bestselling model currently takes place at another facility in Renton, further south in the greater Seattle area.

While Boeing hasn’t disclosed much publicly about what it intends to do with the facilities that housed the Boeing 747 final assembly line, in the run up to the final jumbo delivery reports have emerged that they may be used to work on stored B787 Dreamliners.

When the US President is on board, a call sign that is only used when they are on board is called ” Air Force One” and these are the two new presidential planes.

These two planes have already been built, having originally been destined for Russian airline Transaero, which went bankrupt in 2015. The two future Air Force Ones are currently undergoing an extensive program of modifications to prepare them for presidential service.